Machine and method for making ice



APril 1954 J. M. GOLDSBOROUGH 3,130,556

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING ICE Filed Aug. 31, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 m I N INVENTOR JMGOI. 0550 R0 UGH an? 1. I

ATTORNEY April 28, 1964 .1. M. GOLDSBOROUGH MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING ICE Filed Aug. 31, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR n/.M Goz oseoflo UGH ATTORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR I r\. mm

A ril 28,1964

J. M. GOLDSBOROUGH MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING ICE Filed Aug. 31, 1962 A ril 28, 1964 J. M. GOLDSBOROUGH 3,130,556

. MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING ICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 51, 1962 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,130,556 MACEWE AND METHOD FOR MAKHNG ICE liarnes M. Goldshorough, Box 37, Rte. 1, Hollywood, Md. Filed Aug. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 220,598 8 Claims. (Cl. 62-73) This invention relates to an ice making machine of extremely simple construction, requiring no power means to effect operation of the various mechanisms and the controls therefor, for supplying liquid to a receptacle, for freezing the liquid therein, for moving the receptacle to a discharging position, for defrosting the receptacle to effect gravity discharge of the ice therefrom, and to thereafter return the receptacle to a loading position whereby the aforedescribed cycle of operation will be repeated automatically. Another object of the invention is to provide an ice making machine employing a unique balancing system by which the operation of the apparatus is efiected, and wherein the liquid supplied to the machine, to be formed into ice, is additionally utilized as a counterweight to eflfect swinging movement of parts of the machine in one direction to cause operation of various parts essential to the manufacture of the ice.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a novel process for manufacturing ice by an automatically repeated operation.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view, partly broken away, of the ice making machine;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View thereof taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 3 but illustrating a different position of certain of the parts;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 5--5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 66 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 77 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a view, similar to FIGURE 7, but illustrating a difierent position of certain of the parts, and

FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an electric circuit for the machine.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the ice making machine in its entirety is designated generally ltl and includes a frame, designated generally 11, which is preferably substantially rectangular and formed of angle iron and includes side portions 12 and 13 and end portions 14 and 15. The machine It may be mounted in a refrigerator cabinet, a vertical wall of which is partially illustrated at 16. The end member 15 of the frame 11 may be secured in any conventional manner to a cleat 17 which is in turn secured to the inner side of the wall 16.

A shaft 18 extends across the frame 11 at a point spaced from the frame ends 14 and 15 and is supported and journaled in bearings 19 carried by the frame sides 12 and 13. One side edge of a receptacle, designated generally 20, is secured as by welding, as seen at 18', to the shaft 18 between the frame sides 12 and 13 and so that said receptacle, when in a substantially horizontal position as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, is disposed between the shaft 18 and the frame end 15. The receptacle 20 preferably comprises a plurality of elongated troughs 21 which are disposed perpendicular to the shaft 18 and which have upwardly diverging side Walls 22. The adjacent Walls 22 of adjacent troughs 21 merge integrally with one another, as seen in FIGURE 5. Each trough 21 has an inner end wall 23, secured to the shaft 18 and which is disposed substantially perpendicular to the trough bottom 24, and an outer end Wall 25 which is disposed at an incline upwardly and outwardly relative to the bottom 24, as best seen in FIGURE 3. Each trough 21 is preferably provided with a plurality of transverse partitions 26 which are disposed in spaced apart relation to one another for dividing each trough into a plurality of compartments 27. The partitions 26 are likewise inclined relative to the bottom 24 and are disposed substantially parallel to the outer end wall 25. The upper edges of the partitions 26 are provided with notches, as seen at 28.

A rigid bar or arm 29 is fixed to and extends from the shaft 13 toward the frame end 14 and is disposed substantially coplanar with the bottom of the receptacle 2%). The bar or arm 29 has an elongated longitudinally disposed slot 3i} through which extends a threaded stem 31 which projects from a counterweight 32 which bears against one side of the arm 29. A nut 33 threadedly engages the stem 31 and when tightened bears against the other side of the arm 29 for clamping the weight 32 in different adjusted positions longitudinally of the arm 29. The weight 32 combines with the arm 29 to form a counterpoise for the receptacle 2!).

A bracket 34 is fixed to and depends from the frame end 14. A latch member 35 is pivotally connected at its lower end at 36 to the bracket 34 and extends upwardly therefrom and has a downwardly facing hook 37 on the inner side of its upper portion. A bracket 38 extends outwardly from the bracket 34 and supports a solenoid 39 having an armature 4&3 extending inwardly therefrom and which is connected at 41 to the latch 35. A stop 42 is fixed to and extends inwardly from the frame end 14.

As best seen in FIGURES 1, 7 and 8, a lever 43 is pivotally mounted intermediate of its ends on a pin 44 which extends inwardly from the frame end 14. One end 45 of the lever 43 extends toward and terminates adjacent to the latch 35. A conventional mercury-type switch 46 is mounted on and secured to the other end of the lever 43. A stop 47 extends inwardly from the frame end 14 under said last mentioned lever end 48 to limit the extent that the lever 43 can be rocked counterclockwise, as seen in FIGURES 7 and 8, by the Weight of the mercury switch 46.

A liquid supply conduit, such as a pipe 49 through which water is supplied under pressure, extends inwardly of the frame 11 over its side 12 and across the receptacle 29, as seen in FIGURE 1. The pipe 49 has a closed terminal end 5% and is provided on its underside with a series of longitudinally spaced apertures or discharge ports 51 which are located above the troughs 21. A solenoid valve 52 controls the flow of liquid through the conduit 4? and is located beyond the discharge port 51 which is disposed most remote from the conduit end 50. The solenoid valve 52 is connected in series with the mercury switch 45 by branch conductors 53 of line conductors 54 and 55 of an electric circuit, as illustrated diagrammatically in FIGURE 9.

The receptacle 211 is cooled and heated by any suitable refrigerating and defrosting system which, as illustrated, includes a coil 56 which is lapped so as to have portions passing back and forth between the walls 22 of adjacent troughs 21 and along the outer walls of the two outer troughs 21, and which coil 56 may be secured in any suitable manner to the receptacle 2% to be supported thereby. A hose 57 is connected to and leads from one end of the coil 56 and constitutes a part of a return or suction conduit 58, the other end of which connects with a compressor 59 driven by a motor 60. A condenser 61 is interposed in a conduit 62 leading from the high pressure side of the compressor 59 and which conduit 62 includes a capillary tube 63 which connects with the other end of the coil 56. A branch conduit 64 extends from the conduit 62, between the compressor 59 and condenser 61, and includes a hose or flexible portion 65 which connects to the same end of the coil 56 as the tube 63. A solenoid actuated selector valve 66 is located at the junction of the conduits 62 and 6d and is connected in series with a second mercury switch 67 by branch conductors 68 of the line conductors 54 and 55. The switch 67 is supported on a post 69 which is fixed to and rises from the shaft 18.

The solenoid 39 is connected in series by branch conductors 7d of the line conductors 54 and 55 to a switch 71 composed of spaced contacts 72 and a movable conductor bridge 73. A thermal bulb 74 engages the suction conduit 53 and is connected by a tube 75 to one end of. a bellows 7c, the opposite end of which bellows is connected by an element 77 to the conductor bridge 73.

The receptacle 28 is shown in FIGURE 4 in a downwardly inclined position relative to the frame ill, constituting the ice discharging position of the machine it and with said receptacle held against further clockwise swinging movement by a stop 7 S which extends inwardly from the frame side 12 and is engaged by a part of the receptacle 2%). This constitutes the position of the machine immediately after the ice has been discharged from the receptacle 2% and at the completion of an ice making cycle of the machines operation. In this position, the mercury switch 67 is disposed at an incline so that the switch is closed and the solenoid valve 66 is energized. Accordingly, the refrigerant is being directed by the energized valve e6 through the conduit 64 for defrosting the receptacle 29, and the switch 71 is in an open position. The counterpoise 29, 32 overbalances the empty receptacle 2%) so that as soon as the ice has been discharged therefrom said receptacle and counterpoise will swing counterclockwise from their positions of FIGURE 4 to and beyond their positions of FIGURE 2, during which travel the mercury switch 67 will assume a position inclined in the opposite direction, as seen in FIGURE 2, for breaking the circuit to the solenoid valve 66 so that the refrigerant will flow through the condenser er and capillary tube 63 to cool or refrigerate the receptacle 2%. As the arm 29 swings downwardly its distal end will strike the cam nose 79 of the latch ".55 to cause said latch to swing away from the arm 29 into a notch 80 of the frame end 14, so that the distal end of the arm 29 can pass downwardly below the latch hook 37 and into engagement with the lever end 45, to rock the lever 43 clockwise from its position of FIGURE 7 to its position of FIGURE 8 as the arm 29 swings downwardly against the stop 42. After the distal end of the arm 29 has passed to below the latch hook 37, the latch 35 will resume its position of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

Rocking movement of the lever 43 from its position of FIGURE 7 to its position of FIGURE 8 causes the mercury switch 46 to assume a circuit closing position so that the solenoid valve 52 is energized to allow liquid to pass through the pipe 49 and be discharged from the ports 51 for filling the troughs 21. The liquid discharged into each trough 21 will flow through the notches 28 of the trough partitions for filling all of the compartments of each trough. When the receptacle has been nearly filled with the liquid from the conduit 49, the weight of the liquid will overbalance the counterpoise 29, 32 to cause the receptacle and said counterpoise to rock slightly in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, and until the arm 29 moves into engagement with the latch hook 37 by which the receptacle 2% is then supported in sub stantially a horizontal position. During this upward swinging movement of the arm 29 from its position of FIGURE 8 to its position of FIGURES 1 to 3 and 7, the lever will swing counterclockwise from its position of FIGURE 8 back to its position of FIGURE 7 to open the switch 46 whereby the solenoid valve 52 is de-energized and closed for shutting off the liquid flow to the outlets 51. During this interval the receptacle 2%) is being refrigerated for freezing the liquid in the compartments 27.

After ice has been [formed in the receptacle compartments 27, the liquid refrigerant will pass completely through the coil 56 and will vaporize during its passage through the suction conduit 58. The bulb 74 in response to this decrease in temperature in the conduit 58 will actuate the bellows 76 for moving the bridge member 73' into engagement with the contacts 72 for closing the switch 71, so that the solenoid 39 will be energized to pull the latch 35 outwardly from its full line to its dotted line position of FIGURE 4 to release the 29 and allow the weight of the receptacle 2th to rock said re ceptacle and arm clockwise from their positions of FIG- URES 2 and 3 to their positions of FIGURE 4. When this occurs, the mercury switch e7 will complete a circuit to the solenoid selector valve 66 for shutting off the flow of the refrigerant through the condenser 61 and for directing the refrigerant from the compressor 59 through the conduits 64 and 65 to the coil 56, so that the hot gases will defrost the compartments 27 sufficiently so that the ice contained therein may slide by gravity down the inclined compartment walls or partitions 26 and out of the receptacle 20. When the hot gases commence to flow through the suction conduit 58, the bulb 74 will cause the bellows 76 .to expand to move the bridge member 73 out of engagement with the contacts 72 for opening the switch 71 and de-energizing the solenoid 39, so that the latch 35 will swing inwardly and back to its full line position of FIGURE 4 and its position of FIGURES l, 2 and. After discharge of the ice from the compartments 27, the counterpoise 29, 32 will swing counterclockwise as seen in FIGURE 4, carrying with it the receptacle 203, and back to and beyond its position of FIGURES 2 and 3 for automatically repeating the aforedescribed operation The counterweight 32 can be adjusted longitudinally of the arm 29 by means of the slot 30 for varying the amount of liquid necessary in the receptacle to overbalance said counterpoise and move the arm 29 from its position of FIGURE 8 to its position of FIGURE 7, to thus vary the extent to which the receptacle 20 will be filled. In addition, the conduit 49 may be provided with a reservoir 81 between the solenoid valve 52 and the discharge ports 51. The reservoir 81 is supported above the pipe 49 by a pipe 82 which forms a communicating passage between said reservoir and the conduit 49. The top of the reservoir 81 has an opening 83 provided with an internal annular flange 84 forming a valve seat. A float valve 85 is disposed in the reservoir 81 and has a stem $6 extending upwardly through the opening 83 and terminating in ahandle 87. The stem is substantially smaller in cross section than the opening 83 and the. handle 87 is larger than said opening. When the solenoid valve 52 is energized for supplying water to the outlets 51 a part of the water will back up into the reservoir 81, due to the fact that the capacity of the pipe 49 is greater than the combined capacities of the outlet ports 51. If the liquid should rise to any appreciable extent above the liquid level 88 of the reservoir 31, as seen in FIGURE 6, the fioat 85 will move upwardly and engage the valve seat 84 to seal the reservoir and prevent the entry of more liquid therein. After the solenoid valve 52 is closed and while the receptacle 20 is held in its position of FIGURES 2 and 3 by the latch 35 engaging the arm 29, the liquid will drain by gravity from the reservoir 81 into the conduit 49 and will be discharged through the ports 51 thereof to complete the filling of the receptacle 20. The reservoir 81 may be provided with an inwardly opening check valve 89 to vent the reservoir while the main port 83 is closed by the float 85.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that the invention involves a unique apparatus and method of continuously manufacturing ice automatically and wherein the weight of the ice and the liquid from which the ice is formed is utilized to effect rocking movement of the ice containing receptacle to a position from which the ice is automatically discharged from the machine, after defrosting of the receptacle which is also accomplished automatically. The lightening of the weight of the receptacle, after discharge of the ice therefrom, enables the counterpoise to return the receptacle to a position for refilling and freezing, which parts of the method and functions of the machine are also accomplished automatically. In addition, movement of the receptacle to a loading position by the counterpoise initiates the supply of liquid for reloading the receptable and which was previously interrupted automatically by the weight of the liquid or ice in the receptacle overbalancing the counterpoise and while the receptacle was being refrigerated. Thus, these operations of the apparatus and steps of the method are accomplished automatically without utilizing any power source for effecting movement of the receptacle in which the ice is formed.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An ice making machine comprising a liquid supply, a receptacle, means pivotally mounting said receptacle for up and down swinging movement, a counterpoise urging said receptacle to swing upwardly to a liquid holding position, a control to effect discharge of liquid from said liquid supply into the receptacle when the receptacle is swung upwardly and to shut off the liquid supply when the weight of the liquid contained in the receptacle overbalances the counterpoise for urging the receptacle to swing downwardly, refrigerating means for freezing the liquid in the receptacle, defrosting means to effect release of the ice from adhering engagement with the receptacle for discharge of the ice by gravity from the receptacle when the receptacle swings downwardly to an inclined position, a second control actuated by upward swinging movement of the receptacle to render the refrigerating means operative and the defrosting means inoperative and by downward swinging movement of the receptacle to render the defrosting means operative and said refrigerating means inoperative, and means temporarily restraining downward swinging movement of the receptacle subsequent to an initial downward swinging movement effecting operation of said first mentioned control for shutting oi the liquid supply.

2. An ice making machine as in claim 1, said restraining means including a part responsive to a change in temperature in a portion of said refrigerating means to cause release of said restraining means.

3. An ice making machine comprising a liquid supply, a receptacle, means pivotally mounting said receptacle for up and down swinging movement, a counterpoise urging said receptacle to swing upwardly to a first liquid holding position, a control to effect discharge of liquid from said liquid supply into the receptacle when the receptacle is swung upwardly to said first liquid holding position and to shut off the liquid supply when the weight of the liquid contained in the receptacle overbalances the counterpoise to effect an initial downwardly swinging movement of the receptacle to a second liquid holding position, refrigerating means for freezing the liquid in the receptacle in said first and second liquid holding positions thereof, defrosting means to efiect release of the ice from adhering engagement with the receptacle for discharge of the ice by gravity from the receptacle when the receptacle swings downwardly from said second liquid holding position to a downwardly inclined discharging position, and a second control actuated by upward swinging movement of the receptacle to render the refrigerating means operative and the defrosting means inoperative and by downward swinging movement of the receptacle from said second liquid holding position to said discharging position for rendering the defrosting means operative and said refrigerating means inoperative, said receptacle including a wall disposed substantially parallel to the axis of the means pivotally mounting the receptacle and sloping away from said means for deflecting the ice out of the receptacle when the receptacle is swung downwardly to an inclined position.

4. An ice making machine comprising a liquid supply, a receptacle, means pivotally mounting said receptacle for up and down swinging movement, a counterpoise urging said receptacle to swing upwardly to a liquid holding position, a control to effect discharge of liquid from said liquid supply into the receptacle when the receptacle is swung upwardly and to shut off the liquid supply when the weight of the liquid contained in the receptacle overbalances the counterpoise of urging the receptacle to swing downwardly, refrigerating means for freezing the liquid in the receptacle, defrosting means to effect release of the ice from adhering engagement with the receptacle for discharge of the ice by gravity from the receptacle when the receptacle swings downwardly to an inclined position, a second control actuated by upward swinging movement of the receptacle to render the refrigerating means operative and the defrosting means inoperative and by downward swinging movement of the receptacle to render the defrosting means operative and said refrigerating means inoperative, means temporarily restraining downward swinging movement of the receptacle subsequent to an initial downward swinging movement effecting operation of said first mentioned control for shutting off the liquid supply, and means causing a limited supply of liquid from said liquid supply to discharge into the receptacle while the receptacle is held by said restraining means.

5. An ice making machine comprising a liquid supply, a receptacle, means pivotally mounting said receptacle for up and down swinging movement, a counterpoise urging said receptacle to swing upwardly to a first liquid holding position, a control to effect discharge of liquid from said liquid supply into the receptacle when the receptacle is swung upwardly to said first liquid holding position and to shut off the liquid supply when the weight of the liquid contained in the receptacle overbalances the counterpoise to effect an initial downwardly swinging movement of the receptacle to a second liquid holding position, refrigerating means for freezing the liquid in the receptacle in said first and second liquid holding positions thereof, defrosting means to efiect release of the ice from adhering engagement with the receptacle for discharge of the ice by gravity from the receptacle when the receptacle swings downwardly from said second liquid holding position to a downwardly inclined discharging position, and a second control actuated by upward swinging movement of the receptacle to render the refrigerating means operative and the defrosting means inoperative and by downward swinging movement of the receptacle from said second liquid holding position to said discharging position for rendering the defrosting means operative and said refrigerating means inoperative, said receptacle including a plurality of open top compartments each including a wall disposed substantially parallel to the axis of the means pivotally mounting said receptacle and sloping away from said means for deflecting a piece of ice, formed in said compartment, outwardly thereof by gravity when the receptacle is swung downwardly.

6. An ice making machine comprising a receptacle mounted for rocking movement between a raised liquid holding loading position and a lowered discharging position, means automatically moving the receptacle to a loading position thereof, means automaticallyresponsive to the movement of the receptacle to a loading position for supplying a liquid to the receptacle, means responsive to the weight of the liquid contained in the receptacle for shutting off the supply of liquid thereto, means automatically responsive to movement of the receptacle to a loading position for refrigerating the receptacle for freezing the liquid therein, restraining means retaining the receptacle in a raised position during freezing of the liquid, said restraining means being responsive to a temperature change in the receptacle for releasing the receptacle when theliquid is frozen therein, the frozen liquid functioning as acounterweight for swinging the released receptacle to a discharging position, and defrosting means operated automatically by movement ofvthe receptacle to the discharging position thereof for defrost ing the receptacle to effect discharge of the ice therefrom for automatic return of the receptacle to the loading position thereof.

7. A cyclic method of manufacturing ice consisting of filling a receptacle with a liquid, freezing the liquid therein, restraining the receptacle in a raised position during filling thereof and the freezing of the liquid, utiliz-. ing the temperature of the ice to effect release of the receptacle and the weight of the ice to tilt the receptacle to a lowered discharging position, thermally defrosting the receptacle automatically due to the tilting thereof to a discharging position to effect discharge of the ice therefrom and the automatic return of the receptacle to a raised and restrained position for automatically repeating the manufacturing process.

8. An ice making machine comprising a liquid supply, a receptacle, means pivotally mounting said receptacle for up and down swinging movement, a counterpoise urg ing said receptacle to swing upwardly to a first liquid.

holding position, a control to eifect discharge of liquid from said liquid supply into the receptacle when the receptacle is swun upwardly to said first liquid holding position and to shut off the liquid supply when the weight of the liquid contained in the receptacle over -i balances the counterpoise to effect an initial downwardly swinging movement of the receptacle to a second liquid holding position, refrigerating means for freezing the liquid in the receptacle in said first and second liquid holding positions thereof, defrosting means to effect release of the ice from adhering engagement with the receptaclefor discharge ofthe ice by gravity'from the receptacle when the receptacle swings downwardly from said second liquid holding position to a downwardly inclined means operative and said refrigerating means inoperative.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,493,270 Smith Jan. 3, 1950 3,003,327 COX Oct. 10, 1961 3,045,443 McGrath July 24, 1962 3,048,986 7 Archer Aug. 14, 1962 3,055,185 Lundstrom ept. 25, 1962 

7. A CYCLIC METHOD OF MANUFACTURING ICE CONSISTING OF FILLING A RECEPTACLE WITH A LIQUID, FREEZING THE LIQUID THEREIN, RESTRAINING THE RECEPTACLE IN A RAISED POSITION DURING FILLING THEREOF AND THE FREEZING OF THE LIQUID, UTILIZING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ICE TO EFFECT RELEASE OF THE RECEPTACLE AND THE WEIGHT OF THE ICE TO TILT THE RECEPTACLE TO A LOWERED DISCHARGING POSITION, THERMALLY DEFROSTING THE RECEPTACLE AUTOMATICALLY DUE TO THE TILTING THEREOF TO A DISCHARGING POSITION TO EFFECT DISCHARGE OF THE ICE THEREFROM AND THE AUTOMATIC RETURN OF THE RECEPTACLE TO A RAISED AND RESTRAINED POSITION FOR AUTOMATICALLY REPEATING THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. 